


Now or Never

by images_in_words



Category: Glee
Genre: F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:08:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28515432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/images_in_words/pseuds/images_in_words
Summary: Sometimes getting started early - like, around midnight - on your New Year's resolution pays off, as Quinn finds out.
Relationships: Quinn Fabray/Marley Rose
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	Now or Never

It was not the first time that Quinn had ever woken up naked, with her body entwined with another woman's. It was not even the first time she had done so with someone from her high school. However, it was the first time she'd done so on New Year's Day, greeting the month of January with a pleasant ache everywhere, a spill of long brunette hair covering her chest, and a slender arm draped across her midsection.

As her eyes fluttered open, Quinn let out of a soft groan and shifted in place ever so slightly, the movement calculated to provoke the owner of said arm to withdraw it back into its own space. Nine times out of ten, that did the trick - but not this time. This time, the woman beside her only tightened the grip around her waist, snuggling even closer to Quinn with a muffled grunt. Quinn couldn't suppress a smile as she turned her body over so that she was at eye level the other woman, whose face was buried in one of the many fluffy pillows that adorned her bed.

With a drowsy grin, she thought back to the events of the previous night's New Year's Eve party. She'd invited all of the Glee Club alumni, of course, and many of them had actually been able to attend, much to her delight. Rachel and Santana lived here in the city, as did Kurt and Blaine, so they were around all the time anyway; but Sam and Brittany had flown in from Lima along with Sugar, while Mike and Tina had come from Chicago, and Mercedes, Artie and Kitty had made the cross country flight all the way from Los Angeles. Rachel had even somehow managed to track down Matt Rutherford, which was a huge surprise (he was now living in St. Louis, apparently) - and more recently, she'd helped Marley Rose to move here to New York from Lima.

Quinn remembered Marley as a sweet but shy girl, a year younger than herself and most of the other Glee Club alumni, all blue eyes and brown hair. Back in high school, she'd been tall and coltish, still growing into herself and not at all sure who she was or who she wanted to be. She recalled that Marley had an infectious laugh and a ready smile, along with a truly gorgeous singing voice, and just-out-of-the-closet Quinn had been quite taken with her girl-next-door beauty and homespun charm. When Marley's classmate Kitty had casually mentioned to her that the girl was bisexual, Quinn had thought about asking her to come visit her at Yale, but as she was still coming to grips with her own sexuality, had decided against it.

She'd always kind of regretted that decision, though. Something about Marley Rose had stayed with her throughout the years, and when Rachel had told her that she was in touch with the younger woman and was helping her to move to the Big Apple, Quinn was only too happy to offer any assistance she could, and before long, they'd struck up an easy friendship. It felt to Quinn as though they'd always known each other, even though they'd really only interacted whenever the older Glee Club alumni came back to McKinley to visit with Mr. Schuester and the younger New Directions, and on more than one occasion, Rachel and Santana had made mention of the chemistry that was evidently very apparent between them.

(Subtly, in Rachel's case; not so subtly in Santana's.)

Quinn had felt it right away, but she had never been sure as to whether Marley felt the same way, not being the best judge of that kind of thing. But every time they were together, the attraction she felt towards Marley grew stronger and stronger, and lately, Quinn had begun to feel as though she might explode if she didn't finally do something about it.

So she did. Last night. At midnight.

* * *

She found Marley looking out one of the wall-to-ceiling windows, an expression of awe and wonder animating her pretty face as the lights of the city stared back at her. The party was in full swing, with midnight mere minutes away, and everyone dancing, laughing, eating, drinking and generally having a good time, under Rachel's expert direction. With nothing and no one else to distract her, Quinn took a deep breath, steeled her resolve, and approached the younger woman with a glass of champagne.

"Hi," she said, because she'd never been a fan of cheesy opening lines. That was more Santana's style anyway. She offered Marley the glass, and the younger woman took it with a smile before returning her gaze to the illuminated portrait of the city below. "You know," she continued, "I've been in this apartment for five years, and the view _still_ blows me away."

"It's _incredible._ Everything is so different from Lima," Marley replied. "Bigger. Faster. Louder. _So_ much more hectic. I don't think my mother could have ever gotten used to it, but...I think I am now, finally. Thanks to you and Rachel. And Santana too, I guess, but she mostly takes me clothes shopping." She paused to take a sip from the glass, noticed that Quinn didn't have one of her own. "None for you? On New Year's Eve?"

Quinn smiled at the warmth in the younger woman's eyes. "I...stopped before I moved here. Call it a lesson learned from my mother."

"I see. Sorry."

"Don't be. It was one of many changes I've made in the last few years. And tonight -" Quinn took another deep breath, let it out. "Tonight, I'm getting started on my New Year's resolutions early. Well, one in particular."

"Oh? Which one?"

Quinn glanced back at the party going on behind her. Santana was dancing with Brittany, while Rachel bickered good-naturedly with Mercedes as to who would get to sing the next song for karaoke and Sam did impressions for Blaine.

"The one about taking more risks, being more open about my feelings. Stuff like that."

Marley's blue eyes actually sparkled as she focused them on Quinn's slightly blushing face. "Um. Well. That...that sounds like a good resolution."

The blonde bit her lip, feeling the warmth in her cheeks traveling down from there to settle in her chest. It felt like something was blooming in her heart, something bright and nameless, something wild and dangerous, even as her pulse quickened and her palms went slightly sweaty.

"Thirty seconds to the New Year, bitches!" Santana shouted, drawing whoops and hollers from the rest of the party. "If you wants to get your mack on with someone, now's the time to grab her!"

" _Thank you, Santana,"_ Quinn murmured under her breath. The revelers began the countdown to midnight, but she was finding it increasingly difficult to wait. "Marley, I -"

" _What?_ I can't hear you," Marley shouted, trying to make herself heard over the general ruckus. A loud 'pop' emerged from the din - another champagne bottle sacrificed to the party gods - and the noise grew louder still. "Quinn, what did you say?"

And then it was midnight, and Quinn's lips were on hers, and time stopped, or became suspended like one of those flies in amber she'd seen at the Museum of Natural History. All she could feel was a bolt of electricity shooting through all her limbs at once. She was dimly aware of Quinn's hands on either side of her face, her eyes fluttering closed and the world narrowing to that one point of contact - Quinn's lips on hers, her mouth opening, the kiss deepening, all the sound and movement around them disappearing into nothing, swallowed up along with the air in her lungs into a void where the only things that existed were Quinn's tongue, Quinn's hands, and the beat of her pulse, singing in her veins.

* * *

Marley opened one eye to see Quinn looking down at her with a gentle smile, then considered whether to bury her face completely in the pillow once more or to turn over to let the beautiful blonde see her more fully. It struck her as funny that she was even thinking such a thought; after all, hadn't Quinn seen all of her just a few short hours ago? She giggled softly, then turned over, carefully arranging her hair above her head on the pillow, like a soft ocean wave lapping at the shore.

"Hi," she said, not caring that the sheets had twisted away from her body, leaving her upper half fully exposed to Quinn's lingering gaze, which the other woman made no effort to disguise at all. She felt herself blushing, ridiculously, so she draped an arm over her eyes, as though that would hide the pink flush coloring her cheeks. "Um...so, I didn't dream any of that last night, huh?"

"Nope, afraid not. It was all real."

"I _knew_ it," Marley sighed. "Because I've never had a dream _that_ good."

Quinn raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? You're not just saying that to boost my ego, are you?"

"Please. Like your ego needs any boosting after the number of times you heard your name and God mentioned in the same breath last night."

"Fair point. But I'd say you gave as good as you got, and then some." Quinn stretched, yawning, feeling that good ache in all her muscles as she moved. "So maybe it wasn't just _my_ ego that got boosted last night. Although, thank you for all the compliments."

"You're welcome. And thanks too, I guess," Marley giggled. "Seriously, though. You don't know how long I've wanted... _this."_ She gestured between their bodies with a lazy hand. "I've just never been good at making the first move. Shy little Marley Rose, always waiting for someone else to do the thing she wants to do herself."

"Honestly? You can thank Santana for giving me that last little push I needed to finally work up the courage to kiss you."

Marley sat up straighter, intrigued. The covers shifted a little further downward, and she snatched them up to keep them from falling away entirely. She'd never imagined that Quinn would need to be pushed to do anything; she always seemed so calm and cool, like she always had everything under control, despite all that Rachel and Santana had told her about the turbulent times the blonde had gone through in her days at McKinley.

"Really?" she asked. "How exactly did she do _that?_ I don't remember the two of you talking very much during the party."

"It was right before the ball dropped, just when everything got really loud and out of control." The blonde chuckled at the memory. To think she'd almost lost her nerve, almost missed her chance at ringing in the New Year in the best way possible. "When Santana yelled something like, _'It's almost midnight, bitches! If you wants to get your mack on, grab her right now!'_ "

The impression was so spot on that Marley nearly fell out of the bed, she was laughing so hard. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed, grabbing a pillow and hugging it. "If Santana ever heard your imitation of her, I don't even want to _think_ of what she'd do."

"That's why you and Rachel are the only ones who've ever heard it," Quinn admitted with a wry grin. She lay on her side now, watching the mirthful smile play across the other woman's face, loving the way Marley was so open and honest with every emotion. It was one of the things she enjoyed most about being around her, the simple joy she took in simply being alive. "But in all seriousness, that was when I told myself it was now or never. I felt like if I didn't do something right then and there, I'd lose my chance forever, and I just couldn't stand that thought for even a second longer."

Marley considered this in silence for a moment, her lips pursed as she collected her thoughts. Then she put the pillow she was holding back in place and lay on her side so that she was facing the blonde, who was watching her carefully with her wide green and gold-flecked eyes, her hair tousled in such a sexy way that it made Marley want to start things all over again. But this moment was too important, the words she wanted to say too charged with emotion to be kept inside.

"Truth? I...I was going to do it if you didn't. Kiss you, I mean. So you kinda just beat me to it."

Quinn's eyes widened still further at this revelation, her mouth falling open as though to swallow the words Marley had just spoken. "You... _really?_ You wanted to kiss me as much as I wanted to kiss you? All this time?"

"Like I said before, I'm _terrible_ at making the first move. That's why I'd been hoping _you_ would. Rachel and Santana kept telling me that you were into me, that I should just go for it, but...honestly? I was scared. I mean, have you _seen_ you? I figured you could have anybody in this city that you wanted, not someone from back home in Lima that you met as a naive little bumpkin who looked and sounded like she'd fallen off a turnip truck."

 _"Turnip truck?"_ Quinn couldn't help but laugh. "Are those really a thing?"

Marley pouted, but giggled at the same time. "Come on. You know what I mean. I was...I figured there was no way you could possibly be as attracted to me as I was to you." She let out a long, low sigh as she reached out a tentative hand to caress Quinn's cheek. "Gosh, after a while it was like, every time I saw you, every second I spent with you, I was just hoping and praying that one day you could see me as an option."

The blonde leaned into the touch, closing her eyes as she reveled in the gentle, intimate contact.

"Marley, there was never any other option for me, not after we started getting to know each other. I've never met anyone as sweet, as kind, as gentle and giving and caring as you. Even back when I first met you, I thought there was something special about you. I'm just lucky nobody else ever came along and swept you away first."

"I guess we're _both_ lucky."

"Yeah. I guess we are."

Quinn leaned forward to connect their lips in a long, lingering kiss, a kiss that quickly deepened with the promise of more as Marley tangled her fingers in her hair - and then her phone rang. Reluctantly, she pulled away, recognizing the ring tone as Santana's and knowing that her incorrigible best friend wouldn't stop calling until she answered.

"Sorry," she said, turning over to retrieve her phone from the nightstand. "Give me a second, okay?"

Marley nodded, fisting the white sheet in her hands, mildly annoyed. But she knew Santana well enough at this point to know that the Latina wasn't the sort to just hang up or let the call go to voice mail, so she just sighed and rolled her eyes.

"What's shakin', Q? So did you finally woman up and do the deed with Marley or what?" Santana asked. Her voice was tinged with a hint of anxiety, the reason for which was explained by her next sentence. "I've got a dinner bet riding on this with Rachel, so you better tell Auntie Tana what she wants to hear."

"You made a bet with Rachel about _that? Seriously?_ I think that's a new low, even for you."

"Don't try to change the subject, blondie. I know how you like to deflect. Now spill."

 _"Fine."_ Now it was Quinn's turn to roll her eyes. "The answer is _yes._ Are you happy now?"

"Ecstatic. Now - _next_ question: how was it? Was it hot? I'll bet it was hot. I know how those shy, innocent types can be once you get them going."

"God, Santana. Yes. It was -" She felt Marley's eyes on her; it was as though she'd heard the question and was just as anxious to hear the answer as Santana was. "It was _amazing,_ actually. _Better_ than amazing. I'm not sure there's even a word to describe it."

"How about _mind-blowing?_ Or _earth-shattering?_ Rachel once told me I'd 'remade her soul' after I rocked her world one night. How about that?"

"I think I'll leave the drama to Rachel, but...yes. I'd say that level was reached, and then some."

"Wow. That's awesome, Q." Santana went uncharacteristically silent for a moment. "I'm happy for you, seriously."

"Thanks. Me too. Anything else? I'd kind of like to get back to Marley now, if you don't mind."

"Oh! Yeah. Rachel wants to know if you guys need any help cleaning up later. I'm pretty sure that Sugar lost her earrings somewhere,” Santana replied breezily. “Also, there's a better than even chance there's several champagne corks in your fireplace that you might want to fish out of there before you get all warm and cozy on the couch with Marley Marl. Oh, and Artie's glasses are in one of your chandeliers. _Don't_ ask. He's _finally_ getting contacts today, I'm told."

Quinn pinched the bridge of her nose with two fingers, cursing under her breath. "Um, yeah. Tell Rachel to come by later, maybe around lunch time." She glanced at Marley, saw a new hunger in her sparkling blue eyes. "Um...you know what? Tell her I'll call her when we're ready."

"Damn, Q. Get it, girl! And happy new year, you lucky bitch."

" _Goodbye,_ Santana."

She barely got the phone back on the nightstand when Marley reached for her, and then all thoughts of housecleaning - or anything else - vanished.


End file.
